CARVE THE MARK
by Veronica Roth
Pages: 468
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Publication Date: 18th January 2017
In a galaxy powered by the current, everyone has a gift.
Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra’s currentgift gives her pain and power — something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother’s hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows.
Akos is the son of a farmer and an oracle from the frozen nation-planet of Thuvhe. Protected by his unusual currentgift, Akos is generous in spirit, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get this brother out alive — no matter what the cost.
The Akos is thrust into Cyra's world, and the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. Will they help each other to survive, or will they destroy one another?
You
know that feeling when your favourite author announces a new series and you
just cannot wait to read it? This is how I felt when Carve The Mark was
announced, as I've read the Divergent books more times than I care to mention.
However, when it came around to it I just couldn't pick it up. What if its not
as good? What if I end up being let down? Well over a year after it was first
published I FINALLY got around to reading Carve the Mark and I am happy
to say that I was not disappointed!
Carve The Mark is a story of two halves, told from two points of view.
The first is Akos, a boy torn away from his family, who has to learn to survive
in enemy territory and serve a family that threaten everything he holds dear.
Second is Cyra, a girl fated to bring pain to anyone who touches her. As the
book unfolds these two characters’ lives become intertwined as their fates are
destined to play out but the path they find themselves on was nothing like they
imagined. For you see, Akos may be the only relief from Cyra's current gift, a
moment in time where she is able to breathe. With hostile relations between two
races reaching its apex and a rebellion on the horizon, can our two main
characters out run their destinies or were the fates sealed long ago?
I'll be honest, to begin with I
wasn't convinced. I don't know if it was the fact it wasn’t Tris and Four or if
my expectations were just to high but I honestly thought I wasn't going to like
this book. However, after a couple of chapters I found that I couldn't put this
book down. I needed to know what happened next. The story line was exciting and
constantly moving from one thing to the next and it kept me on my toes throughout.
One of my favourite things with books like this is seeing how the author uses
contemporary human behaviour to create worlds that parallel our own and the
universe Roth describes is both otherworldly and relatable (which is a hard mix
to pull off).
The characters themselves are all
completely and utterly imperfect, they make mistakes and fall down throughout
the book, but they also find the strength within themselves and each other to
fight. The growth of Cyra's character was probably one of my favourites as it
shows not just the harshness of growing up and finding yourself but also the
struggles of doing what's right when it's so much easier to do what's being
asked of you.
Overall, I fell in love with this
story and the main characters. It was fasted paced and exhilarating, with plot
twists around every corner. It was one of those books that makes me wish I
hadn't waited so long to read it and I'm not making the same mistake with book
2 as I can't wait to find out what is in store for these characters next.
